Don Henley Already Looking Forward To Sweeping 2009 Grammy Awards

Hey, did you know that the Eagles won a Grammy last night? Yes, their wooing of the Grand Ol’ Opry crowd led to them taking home the Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals award for their song “How Long.” And the win made Don Henley get a little misty-eyed: “This Grammy win is particularly sweet because of the length of time that has passed since we (the Eagles) won our first Grammy in early 1976. I was 28 years old then. I’m 60 now.” And he’s ready to make 61 an even more awards-laden year!

“I always secretly hoped that we could pull off something like this, but I had almost given up. This win feels really good — and it’s in a whole different field than we were in before. Now I’m thinking that we might have a good chance to win again next year because Long Road Out of Eden will be eligible then. This year, only the single, “How Long,” came out in time to make the nomination process. We’re all very grateful to the Academy members and to our loyal fans. It’s been quite a ride and it apparently isn’t over just yet.”

So should we just start steeling ourselves for the throwdown between the Eagles and Alicia Keys’ As I Am now? I’m thinking we should; despite Ms. Keys snagging two performance spots on last night’s show–thanks, Clive Davis!–her album actually won’t be eligible until next year. Which means that pretty much the whole show’s performance well will probably consist of Don & Co. handing off with Alicia for various duets with more dead people, and maybe a token appearance by Dave Grohl on drums as a nod to the “younger” demographic.